Dave Noble

Since this is an Ex EU departure, TG is legally responsible to get the passenger to the destination AND provide a 75% refund if downgraded plus delay compensation

If Thai will reaccommodate in business class, regardless of whether you like the A340, the airline will have met its obligation for getting you to your destination, though you will be entitled to the refund of 75% of the total cost of the ticket

ianp

I am in BKK now , I took the A340 flight , managed to get in F lounge by telling them what had happened and showing original tickets and asking them to find out what had happened.

I will certainly try to use the EU directive to get some compensation.

It turned out my partners F ticket was fine , but the TG staff at LHR insisted her BKK-BNE connection was invalid and would not let her board at LHR. Is that Involuntry denied boarding ?

Dave Noble

If there was an issue with the ticket, then generally not as far as EU compensation is concerned

It would depend on exact circumstances

In what way was the connection invalid?

ianp

My partners ticket was fine , the TG check in at LHR claimed there was a issue with the BKK-BNE leg and would not let her board.

US told me that her ticket was fine and it was only my LHR-BKK leg that had been cancelled by TG. They had to get TG to book her on the next flight in business with me.

I imagine proving that this is a TG issue is going to be hard .

Dave Noble

You do not have to prove that it is a TG issue, under the regulation it is the operating carrier that is liable

You have the original eticket details plus details of flight on which were rebooked

Yo have all you need.

ianp

UPDATE.

I sent emails of the complaint to Thai airways on the day that we were denied boarding , Today I received a response , they have admitted that they messed up my booking .
After fully retrieving your booking record, we have no excuse to reveal that, due to the unsynchronized passenger data in our check-in system, our London check-in agent could not locate your booking and the ticket number in the passenger name list on this flight. Despite excessive effort to accept you as a go-show passenger without advance booking, it was unsuccessful.

They have offered me 800 euro EMD and my partner a 400 euro EMD , which is not much use as they have to be used in 12 months and we have no plans to use Thai in the next 12 months.
As we were downgraded on a award ticket they are saying I need to contact US airways to get back the mileage difference from first to business.

In recognition of your being our genuine First Class passenger, we would respectfully ask you to accept an ex-gratia total equivalent amount of EUR800.- for a denied boarding compensation in the form of an Electronic Miscellaneous Document (EMD), apart from the mileage difference which you have to contact US Airways for direct actions. Also, we are pleased to offer the total equivalent amount of EUR400.- on exceptional goodwill to your partner, Ms.xxxxxxxxx in the form of Electronic Miscellaneous Document (EMD) as full and final settlement. Please note the EMD ,with one year validity from the date of issuance, can be used for purchasing tickets at any type of fare at THAI town office and paying excess baggage charge or partial payment of upgrade surcharge at the airport.

I dont understand why they are offering different amounts of compensation as we were both booked in F , she was actually denied boarding when she had a valid ticket , it was my ticket that was screwed up by Thai..

Any advice on this would be very welcome...

Dave Noble

If the fault was that of Thai, then for the downgrade you are entitled to 75% of the ticket cost in compensation

For a delay of > 4hours there is an entitlement of EUR600 ( plus of course airline required to provide accommodation/meals etc )

This amount is due from the operating carrier (TG) and not anything to do with US

If US messed up issuing the ticket, then what TG offered is nothing, so would accept what has been offered

See EC261

ianp

Thai are saying it was there due to the ""unsynchronized passenger data in our check-in system"" so I assume if it was a fault of US airways they would have not offered us anything.

Thai check in staff did not offer us anything at all they just closed the check in counter and told us to phone US airways.

US contacted Thai and got them to put us on the next flight but only C was available .

So we were delayed 9 hours waiting for the next flight and downgraded from F to C .

On the day of departure a one way first class seat from LHR-BKK was 2460.86 GBP (4026.36 gbp return)

So I should claim 2 x 600 euro for the delay , and 2x 1845.64 gbp (75% of one way cost ) ?

Thanks

nux

It is 75% of what your ticket cost, not what a oneway ticket on the day would cost. If it was a mileage booking it would be 75% of the mileage used and 75% of any cash component paid.

Dave Noble

2 x EUR600 for the delay
75% of entire ticket cost for the downgrade - You might also want to suggest a cash amount that matches the cost of purchasing the miles as an option

ianp

Hi Dave,
I really appreciate your help with this , so to clarify I should be asking for
75% of the tickets cost which was 160,000 dividend miles each , so 120,000 x 1.8c = $2160 usd . + 600 euro for the delay.

Should I send them the official EU claim form with my reply ?

I wasn't sure what to put in the price paid box on the EU form , so I will put the cost as 160000 dividend miles @ 1.8c a mile and ask for 75% of the that amount ?

Many thanks

Dave Noble

There isn't an official form for EC261

You have the amounts correct ; you need to write to the airline making clear that you are claiming the amounts as entitled under the act

If you do a search , you will be able to find a copy of EC261/2004 and can make reference to the appropriate articles

If you purchased the miles in buy x get x promotions then 120,000 miles costs USD2257 , though if bought normally is USD4514

You will likely get resistance from the airline on meeting this obligation and may end up having to take it to a small claims court - if you do have to do that, do turn up ; on EK forum a person reported losing ; EK didn't turn up to defend however the plaintiff didn't turn up either

ianp

I found this form on a EC website

http://ec.europa.eu/transport/themes...nt_form_en.pdf

It might be useful for someone making a claim.